[media-credit id=75 align=”aligncenter” width=”495″][/media-credit] More than 1,800 people registered to run in the first Commitment Day event held Jan. 1 in Denver.

Getting up before, say, noon on New Year’s Day isn’t most people’s idea of a good time, but running a 5K at 9 a.m. on Jan. 1 turned out to be the perfect way to start 2013.

This was the first Commitment Day run (commitmentday.com) put on by Life Time Fitness, which rolled out in Denver and 25 other cities last week, with 39,016 signed up to run nationwide, according to Lauren Flinn, public relations specialist for Life Time. More than 1,500 were said to have actually shown up in Denver, but 1,820 had registered, with a portion of their $39 fee going toward a handful of charities (you could also waive your registration and instead enter by fundraising a larger entry fee for charity).

As usual, groups in tutus and other costumes turned out to have a good time, and it wasn’t a race, so families were walking with strollers and. My family — including one teen who began under some protest but ended smiling — ran the whole way if only to stay warm in the starting temperature of 18 degrees.

A highlight of the Pine Valley Open Space Park is a walk along the North Fork of the South Platte River.

Don’t blink or you’ll miss it, but what the tiny town of Pine Grove lacks in size, it makes up for in charm.

Three years ago Pine Grove successfully petitioned to return Pine — which it had been called since sometime before 1920 — to the name it was given when it came to be in 1886, but either way, it’s an apt moniker, because the surrounding forests make a trip to this area southwest of Denver a visual delight.

The Pine Emporium (16714 County Road 126, 303-838-5150) is part antiques shop, part art gallery, part thrift store and all fun, one of those places where it’s easy to find that four hours have passed when you thought you’d been poking around for 15 minutes in the dishes, locally made pottery, vintage linens, knick knacks, jewelry, clothes, furniture, books…the list goes on and on.

There are few tastier ways to start the day than with the Casey breakfast enchiladas "Christmas style" at Santa Fe's Guadalupe Cafe.

Housed in an adobe building on the Old Santa Fe Trail, the Guadalupe Cafe has long been a favorite among locals and chile-heads in the know.

The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and their chile sauces — both the red and the green — are considered among the best in town.

I love coming here for breakfast, and it’s usually a toss-up between this place and Cafe Pasquals, which sits on the corner of Don Gaspar and Water. But unless you’re standing outside Pasquals at 8 a.m., you’ll have to wait to be seated. Not that Guadalupe doesn’t do a rocking business, but it’s not ridiculously crowded. It’s cheaper too.

A dish of fava beans and jambon is one of the star tapas at El Meson in Santa Fe

OK, technically, the only thing New Mexican about El Meson Restaurant is that it’s in New Mexico.

Specifically, Santa Fe — the state’s capitol from territorial days on that has a 400-year history.

But El Meson is a terrific example of New Mexico’s Spanish roots. I have a serious jones for red and green chiles, and New Mexican-style food is my favorite version of Mexican food on this side of the border.

But sometimes on extended visits to Santa Fe, it’s nice to have a little break. And El Meson is one of my favorite spots for that.

It’s not a huge menu, but there are some choice items that are a departure from the Mexican restaurants found in Denver.

For starters, they have gorditas, the corn flour (masa) pockets that in this incarnation, are sliced open pita-pocket fashion and packed with shredded, crisped beef, then topped with the requisite cheese, lettuce-and-tomatoes, and savory salsa.

But the thing I really loved about this little place with a friendly staff were the agua frescas, the popular fruit ades you see at outdoor stands — and in restaurants — in Mexico, which sits just 60 miles south of Hatch.

It might be the only restaurant in the Land of Enchantment with a parrot aviary in the lobby. (Yes, the cage is far away from the dining area, kitchen and waiter paths.)

The place is kind of gaudy, kind of kitschy and all kinds of good. One fine way to go is the stacked enchilada plate, pictured, with red and green chile. (For folks from Out East, you ask for “Christmas.”) New Mexican enchiladas come in two versions, stacked and rolled. I asked for the carne adovada on mine, tender morsels of roasted pork marinated in red chile sauce. Yum.

If you go, La Posta is at 2410 Calle de San Albino in Mesilla, which abuts Las Cruces. 575-524-3524.

The other day, I heard a 20-ish person say “Fort Collins is way more hippie than Boulder.”

While that might be true for the current college set, this Northern Colorado hub has come a long way toward hip (or hippie) since I was in college here in the ’80s. It has a lively arts and music scene, increasingly interesting restaurants and waaay more beer and bikes than it used to. In fact, they now call it the “Napa Valley of beer.” Whatever your interest, this college town is worth the one-hour drive from Denver.

SHOPPING IN OLD TOWN

Locals call the area Old Town, promoters call it Downtown. Whatever you call it, the historic district that emanates in all four directions from College and Mountain avenues is full of cute shops for nearly all interests.

At the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek‘s 8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill, Christian Apetz is welcoming and charming, and the fact that he takes the time to come out and chat with the guests makes what could be just another meal in a ski area hotel — a 60-second walk to the first lift, and also a great place to stay if you’re headed here in the summer to mountain bike — into a welcoming and charming experience.

Of course, the fact that Apetz’s menu is packed with dishes that you actually want to eat keeps it from being ho-hum resort fare, as well. I love me some French food, but the last regime was a little, shall we say, tightly wound. The food was pricey, sure, but you also had to choose carefully or wind up with something overwrought and cranky. It made the staff uptight, too, as though they were always waiting for something to go wrong.

The outlets are a big draw, sure, but the Douglas County seat named for its unmistakable castle-shaped butte overlooking the town and visible for miles is an easy 40-minute drive from Denver and offers more rewards than just discounted shopping, including several places to get outside early in the season.

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The eggs Benedict and the green chile are worthy choices at the Pegasus Restaurant in Castle Rock.

With its comfy wood furniture and house-like décor, the inviting atmosphere at Pegasus Restaurant (313 Jerry St., 303-688-6746) makes it easy to settle in for a while over a good cup of joe while you plan your day, but the best reason to stop by this welcoming eatery – which serves three meals daily – is to get breakfast before 2 p.m., especially for the real-hollandaise eggs Benedict and the peppery, medium-hot, green chile.

The pursuit of a healthier state through better living. The Denver Post's ColoradoFit blog features local experts on the latest fitness trends, active lifestyles and nutrition options in Colorado and beyond.